Belden Barns 2017 Sauvignon Blanc

We’ve written about these folks quite a bit over the years. About a week ago we got our wine club shipment. The pinots can wait but the lure of the Belden Barns 2017 sauvigvnon blanc ($26) proved irresistable.

And we were not disappointed. Aromas of honey and tangerine with just hint of grassiness lead to a palate of pineapple and honeydew melon. The finish is long and multi-layered moving into a touch of wet slate. This is a major bargain.

The Beldens planted a unique clone of sauvignon blanc. Nate describes it as “the pedigreed vine material originally sourced from Collio, Italy near the Slovenian border.” We are pretty sure the terroir is a contributing factor. Sonoma Mountain is rocky with an interesting soil structure. They benefit from being directly aligned with the Sonoma wind gap. Days are cool and foggy, something very unique for properties east of highway 101 in Santa Rosa.

Buy this wine and try it. Unless, of course, you are a fan of the grassy, vegetal sauv blancs. In that case, this is not for you.

About the author

Tony Lima has been a California wine fan since arriving in California from the east coast in 1974. He's lived the growth and expansion of the industry first hand. He's seen the fickle California Wine consumer fads pop up and burst... the craze for Zinfandel, then oaky Chardonnay, then Merlot, now Pinot Noir. His day job was Professor of Economics at California State University located in Hayward. (He retired in 2016.) His undergrad degree in chemical engineering (MIT) and his MBA ( Harvard) and Ph.D. Economics (Stanford) are the root of his interest in the Business of Wine. He is a card-carrying member of the AAWE - American Association of Wine Economists.